Systems and methods for diagnosing and fixing electronic devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for reducing the cost and time required for diagnosing and fixing electronic devices are provided. A host electronic device may be configured to generate a log of events that it experiences. A help component may access the generated log and analyze the log to detect if the host device has experienced a problem. Data may then be exchanged between the help component and the host device in order to fix the detected problem.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/937,865,filed Jun. 28, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This can relate to systems and methods for diagnosing and fixingelectronic devices, and, more particularly, to systems and methods fordiagnosing and fixing electronic devices through online or softwarebased services.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

When an electronic device (e.g., a media player or a portable telephone)becomes corrupted (e.g., when a device's hardware, software, or storeddata fails to function properly), a user is usually unable to determine,let alone fix, the problem his or herself. Conventionally, the user hasto call a technical support helpline in order to try and explain to atechnician what the problem may be. Usually, this is insufficient toallow the technician to discover what is wrong with the device, and theuser has to go so far as to send the device back to the manufacturer forcorrection or total replacement of the device. These conventionaloptions for attempting to resolve corruption suffered by an electronicdevice are time consuming and expensive for both the user andmanufacturer.

Accordingly, what is needed are systems and methods for reducing thecost and time required for diagnosing and fixing various electronicdevices.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Systems and methods for diagnosing and fixing various electronic devicesare provided.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, a method ofdiagnosing a host electronic device with a help component is provided.The method includes accessing at least a portion of a log with the helpcomponent, analyzing the at least a portion of the log with the helpcomponent to detect a problem experienced by the host electronic device,and exchanging corrective data between the help component and the hostelectronic device to fix the problem.

According to another particular embodiment of the invention, a helpcomponent is provided that includes circuitry configured to access atleast a portion of a log, circuitry configured to analyze the at least aportion of the log to detect a problem, and circuitry configured toexchange corrective data to fix the problem.

According to yet another particular embodiment of the invention, anelectronic device is provided that includes a program configured togenerate a log of one or more events experienced by the host electronicdevice. The electronic device is also configured to upload the log to ahelp component for diagnosis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the invention, its nature, and variousadvantages will become more apparent upon consideration of the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary network system that includes the electronicdevice of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is an illustrative flowchart showing various steps of a processfor diagnosing and fixing an electronic device in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Methods and systems for diagnosing and fixing various electronic devicesare provided and described with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

The term “electronic device” can include, but is not limited to, musicplayers, video players, still image players, game players, otherportable or non-portable media players, music recorders, videorecorders, cameras, other media recorders, radios, medical equipment,calculators, cellular telephones, other wireless communication devices,personal digital assistants, programmable remote controls, pagers,laptop computers, printers, or combinations thereof. In some cases, theelectronic devices may perform a single function (e.g., a devicededicated to playing music) and, in other cases, the electronic devicesmay perform multiple functions (e.g., a device that plays music,displays video, stores pictures, and receives and transmits telephonecalls).

In any case, these electronic devices are generally any portable,mobile, hand-held, or miniature electronic device constructed inaccordance with the invention so as to allow a user to listen to music,play games, record videos, take pictures, and/or conduct telephone callswherever the user travels. Miniature electronic devices may have a formfactor that is smaller than that of hand-held electronic devices, suchas an iPod™ available by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Illustrativeminiature electronic devices can be integrated into various objects thatinclude, but are not limited to, watches, rings, necklaces, belts,accessories for belts, headsets, accessories for shoes, virtual realitydevices, other wearable electronics, accessories for sporting equipment,accessories for fitness equipment, key chains, or combination's thereof.Alternatively, electronic devices of the invention may not be portableat all.

An electronic device of the invention can include at least one inputcomponent that allows a user to manipulate a function of the device, atleast one output component that provides the user with valuable devicegenerated information, and a protective housing that at least partiallyencloses the one or more input and output components of the device.

For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram of anillustrative electronic device 100 in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, electronic device 100can include at least one user input component 112 that may be of avariety of forms including, but not limited to, a depressible switch, asliding switch, a keypad, a dial, a scroll wheel, a touch screendisplay, a trackball, a joystick, a touch pad, electronics for acceptingaudio and/or visual information, an antenna, an infrared port, or acombination thereof. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, each one ofthe one or more input components 112 of device 100 can be configured toprovide one or more dedicated control functions for making selections orissuing commands associated with operating the device. By way ofexample, in the case of a music file player, the function of an inputcomponent can be associated with powering up or down the device, openingor closing a menu, playing or stopping a song, changing a mode, and thelike.

As mentioned above, an electronic device can also include at least oneoutput component that provides the user with valuable device generatedinformation. For example, electronic device 100 can include at least oneoutput component 114 that may be of a variety of forms including, butnot limited to, an audio speaker, headphones, an audio line-out, avisual display, an antenna, an infrared port, or a combination thereof.In some embodiments, input component 112 and output component 114 may bea single or shared component, such as a touch screen display.

The housing of an electronic device (e.g., housing 101 of device 100)can also include a processor, a storage component, communicationscircuitry, a bus, and a power supply for powering the device. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, a bus 110 of electronic device 100 canprovide a data transfer path for transferring data, to, from, or betweenat least a processor 102, a storage component 104, communicationscircuitry 106, input component 112, output component 114, and anauxiliary component 118. In some embodiments, device 100 can includemore than one of each of these elements, but for the sake ofillustration, only one of each is shown in FIG. 1.

Processor or control circuitry 102 of device 100 can control theoperation of many functions and other circuitry included in the device.For example, processor 102 can receive user inputs from input component112 and can drive output component 114.

Storage component 104 can include one or more storage mediums,including, for example, a hard-drive, flash memory, permanent memorysuch as read-only memory (“ROM), semi-permanent memory such as randomaccess memory (“RAM”), any other suitable type of storage component, orany combination thereof. Storage component 104 can include cache memory,which may be one or more different types of memory used for temporarilystoring data for electronic device applications. Storage component 104may store media (e.g., music and video files), software (e.g., forimplementing functions on device 100), firmware, preference information(e.g., media playback preferences), lifestyle information (e.g., foodpreferences), exercise information (e.g., information obtained byexercise monitoring equipment), transaction information (e.g.,information such as credit card information), wireless connectioninformation (e.g., information that may enable device 100 to establish awireless connection), subscription information (e.g., information thatkeeps tracks of podcasts or television shows or other media a usersubscribes to), contacts information (e.g., telephone numbers and emailaddress), calendar information, any other suitable data, or anycombination thereof.

In some embodiments, storage component 104 may store authenticationinformation for a user to enter prior to accessing the functionality ofdevice 100. For example, storage component 104 may store username andpassword combinations, or algorithms and keys for authenticating astring entered by the user (e.g., using an RSA algorithm). Storagecomponent 104 may store data for pairing itself or communicating withone or more devices (e.g., help component 300 of FIG. 2, as described inmore detail below) using a short-range communications protocol.

Communications circuitry 106 of electronic device 100 can includecircuitry for permitting wireless communication (e.g., short-rangeand/or long-range communication) with one or more servers (e.g., helpcomponent 300 of FIG. 2) using any suitable communications protocol. Forexample, communications circuitry 106 may support Wi-Fi™ (e.g., an802.11 protocol), Ethernet, Bluetooth™, high frequency systems (e.g.,900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared,transmission control protocol/internet protocol (“TCP/IP”) (e.g., any ofthe protocols used in each of the TCP/IP layers), hypertext transferprotocol (“HTTP”), BitTorrent™, file transfer protocol (“FTP”),real-time transport protocol (“RTP”), real-time streaming protocol(“RTSP”), secure shell protocol (“SSH”), any other communicationsprotocol, or any combination thereof. Communications circuitry 106 canalso include circuitry that enables device 100 to be electricallycoupled to another device (e.g., a computer or an accessory device, suchas an FM transmitter) and communicate with that other device.

Furthermore, additional electrical components, such as an auxiliarycomponent 118, can be provided by electronic device 100 according tosome embodiments of the invention. For example, auxiliary component 118may be any component provided for sending and/or receiving media,including, but not limited to, microphones, amplifiers, digital signalprocessors (“DSPs”), image sensors (e.g., charge coupled devices(“CCDs”)) or optics (e.g., lenses, splitters, filters, etc.), antennas,receivers, transmitters, transceivers, and the like.

Alternatively or additionally, auxiliary component 118 may include oneor more environmental sensors, circuitries, and/or software or firmwareapplications for detecting the position, orientation, movement, or otherenvironmental-based event information or environmental conditions ofelectronic device 100. Such sensors and circuitries may include, but arenot limited to, one or more single-axis or multi-axis accelerometers,angular rate or inertial sensors (e.g., optical gyroscopes, vibratinggyroscopes, gas rate gyroscopes, or ring gyroscopes), magnetometers(e.g., scalar or vector magnetometers), light sensors, temperaturesensors, pressure sensors, infrared (“IR”) sensors, linear velocitysensors, thermal sensors, fluid sensors (e.g., moisture and liquidsensors), microphones, ambient light sensors (“ALS”), proximity sensors,capacitive proximity sensors, acoustic sensors, sonic or sonar sensors,radar sensors, image sensors, video sensors, global positioning system(“GPS”) detectors, radio frequency (“RF”) detectors, RF or acousticdoppler detectors, RF triangulation detectors, electrical charge sensors(e.g., battery charge status sensors to determine power consumption andpower availability), peripheral device detectors, event counters, and/orcombinations thereof. For example, device 100 may be configured to readdata from one or more of the sensors or circuitries in auxiliarycomponent 118 in order to determine the orientation or velocity ofelectronic device 100, and/or the amount or type of light, heat, orsound that device 100 is being exposed to, and the like.

Moreover, alternatively or additionally, auxiliary component 118 mayinclude one or more usage sensors, circuitries, and/or software orfirmware applications, such as an event counter that may count thenumber of times that an event has occurred, has not occurred, or shouldhave occurred with respect to the device, or any other usage-based eventinformation or usage conditions of electronic device 100. For example,if device 100 is a telephone or electronic messaging device, a usagecounter may detect if a user fails to answer a telephone call afterseveral alert instances, or if a user has received a certain amount ofe-mails from a certain party within a certain period of time. Therefore,electronic device 100 may be configured to detect when device 100 hasbeen used in a certain way. A usage sensor of auxiliary component 118may also include, for example, a signal strength detector (e.g., abattery charging sensor to determine how much capacity of battery (e.g.,battery 108) is remaining or a light strength sensor to determine howbright a graphic display of device 100 is able to shine).

A power supply 108 can provide power to the components of device 100. Insome embodiments, power supply 108 can be coupled to a power grid (e.g.,a personal computer). In some embodiments, power supply 108 can includeone or more batteries for providing power in a portable device. Asanother example, power supply 108 can be configured to generate power ina portable device from a natural source (e.g., solar power using solarcells).

As described above, a disadvantage of conventional electronic devices isthat the options for attempting to resolve corruption suffered by suchdevices are time consuming and expensive for both the users andmanufacturers of the devices. Therefore, according to certainembodiments of the invention, an electronic device may be provided withan application or firmware or any other type of program that can collectuseful information related to how the device is used. For example, theapplication or firmware of the invention may be provided in storagedevice 104 of electronic device 100 (see, e.g., log or breadcrumbprogram 116).

In some embodiments, program 116 may create and save a historicallog(e.g., log 117) of all or at least certain types of eventsexperienced by the device, including any action taken by any hardwarecomponent of device 100 and any response taken by any software orfirmware of device 100, such as crash events, program update events(e.g., software update events or firmware update events), media or otherfile type transfer events (e.g., file download events or file uploadevents), environmental events, and usage events, for example. The typesof information related to each event that historical log 117 may storecan include, but is not limited to, the date (e.g., time, calendar day,etc.) that the event occurred, the duration of the event, the physicalconditions or surroundings of the device during the event (e.g., shockevents if the device had been dropped as detected by an accelerometer,moisture levels if the device had been exposed to damaging liquids,etc.), the location of the device during the event, the versions ofsoftware and firmware stored on or being used by the device during theevent, identification of hardware used by the device during the event(e.g., chip maker's identification), any errors that occurred during theevent, the size of any data received by or transmitted from the deviceduring the event, the success of any reception or transmission of databy the device during the event, the strength of any signals beingreceived by or transmitted from the device during the event, and thetypes of other events that occurred before and/or after the event (e.g.,detected errors in a storage medium of the device). In some embodiments,log 117 may store data that can identify the one or more servers,accessories, and/or other devices that its device may have communicatedwith during the event (e.g., accessory device 150 and/or help component300 of FIG. 2).

In some embodiments, program 116 may be configured to recognize ordetect corruption of device 100 or an accessory coupled to device 100(e.g., accessory device 150 of FIG. 2) during its use by analyzinghistorical log 117. For example, program 116 may be configured toanalyze historical log 117 to recognize or detect corruption of media, afile system, a database, a file structure, or the like of device 100 oran accessory coupled to device 100. This may be accomplished byheuristically analyzing log 117, for example. In some embodiments,program 116 may create a flag or key 119 indicative of just theexistence of the detected corruption or of some specifics about the typeof corruption detected. For example, key 119 may be an intelligentextraction of information from log 117 that can trigger immediate actionwhen accessed for diagnostic or corrective purposes. Key 119 may be ableto extract necessary information from log 117 for helping to diagnosedevice 100 while protecting a user's private information or otherparticular details that may be stored in log 117 from being seen oraccessed by another entity. Key 119 may be a summary of log 117 that maybe useful to and accessible by an entity for diagnosing or fixing device100 (e.g., help component 300 as described below in more detail). Key119 may be generated by extracting information from log 117 in anabstract way and/or by using checksums, for example.

The historical log and/or key created by a program to collect usefulinformation related to how an electronic device is used (e.g., log 117and/or key 119 created by program 116 of device 100) can be provided onany device capable of downloading data from and/or uploading data toanother device or server. For example, a “host” device with such aprogram may be capable of communicating with another device wirelesslyor via one or more wires. Additionally or alternatively, the “host”device with such a program may be capable of communicating with a serverwirelessly or via one or more wires. If the host device becomescorrupted, the program or at least the log or key of the host device maybe used by the other device or server to diagnose and even fix the hostdevice.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of an illustrative data system inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Data system 200 caninclude host electronic device 100 with program 116 and log 117, asdescribed above, as well as a “help” electronic device or “help” server300. Moreover, in some embodiments, system 200 can also include one ormore accessory devices 150 coupled to host device 100 via an accessorycommunications link 155. In some embodiments, data system 200 mayinclude several help electronic devices/servers or help components 300,several host devices 100, and/or several accessory devices 150. However,to avoid overcomplicating the drawing, only one host device 100, onlyone accessory device 150, and only one help component 300 are shown inFIG. 2.

Accessory device 150 may be any device that can be coupled to and usedin conjunction with electronic device 100, such as, but not limited to,audio speakers, headphones, a video display, microphone, powercharger/docking device, or combinations thereof. Accessory device 150may enhance the functionality, convenience, or aesthetics of electronicdevice 100. For example, accessory device 150 may be a wirelessBluetooth™ headset for electronic device 100 that may be provided as acellular telephone. A wireless Bluetooth™ headset may enhance the use ofa cellular telephone by allowing users to have a hands-free, wirelessconversation through their cellular telephone. Similarly, a dockingaccessory device may be an accessory to a portable media player, wherethe docking device is used to update and provide power to the portablemedia player.

Electronic device 100 and accessory device 150 may communicate overaccessory communications link 155, which may include any suitable wiredor wireless communications link, or combinations thereof, by which datamay be exchanged between device 100 and device 150. For example,accessory link 155 may include, but is not limited to, a Bluetooth™link, a fiber-optic link, a cable link, a cellular network link, or anyother suitable wired or wireless link.

Accessory link 155 may transmit data using any suitable communicationsprotocol supported by the medium of accessory link 155. Suchcommunications protocols may include, for example, Wi-Fi™, Ethernet,Bluetooth™, high frequency systems (e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHzcommunication systems), infrared, TCP/IP, HTTP, BitTorrent™, FTP, RTP,RTSP, SSH, any other communications protocol, or any combinationthereof.

Help component 300 can store data files that host device 100 may want toaccess. Help component 300 can additionally or alternatively includeapplications that help component 300 may use to access and inspectprogram 116 and/or log 117 of host device 100. To affect these and othertypes of data exchange, host device 100 can issue a data exchangerequest to help component 300 in some embodiments, and help component300 can issue a data exchange request to host device 100 in someembodiments. Responsive thereto, one of the host device and helpcomponent can locate and then exchange the requested data with the otherof the host device and help component.

In some embodiments, host device 100 may issue a data exchange requestwith help component 300 once program 116 updates log 117 in a particularway or once host device 100 experiences a particular type of“instigating” event (e.g., after each update of log 117, after an updateof log 117 related to a specific environmental or usage eventexperienced by device 100, etc.). Therefore, host device 100 may issue adata exchange request with help component 300 such that help component300 may access log 117 after a particular type of update has been madeto log 117, for example. In some embodiments, host device 100 may issuea data exchange request with help component 300 whenever host device 100detects a network (e.g., a cellular network or Wi-Fi™ network) that helpcomponent 300 may be in. In other embodiments, help component 300 mayissue a data exchange request with host device 100 whenever a user ofhost device 100 manually establishes a connection between host device100 and help component 300 (e.g., when communications circuitry 106 ofhost device 100 has been corrupted or is otherwise not functioning, suchthat the wireless communication capabilities of host device 100 arecompromised, and the user physically couples host device 100 to helpcomponent 300 via a wire or cable), for example.

Device 100 and component 300 may communicate over a communications link210. Communications link 210 may include any suitable wired or wirelesscommunications link, or combinations thereof, by which data may beexchanged between device 100 and component 300. For example,communications link 210 may include, but is not limited to, a satellitelink, a fiber-optic link, a cable link, an Internet link, a cellularnetwork link, or any other suitable wired or wireless link.

Communications link 210 may transmit data using any suitablecommunications protocol supported by the medium of communications link210. Such communications protocols may include, for example, Wi-Fi™,Ethernet, Bluetooth™, high frequency systems (e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz,and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared, TCP/IP, HTTP, BitTorrent™,FTP, RTP, RTSP, SSH, any other communications protocol, or anycombination thereof.

Help component 300 can be any device similar to host device 100. Helpcomponent 300 can include any suitable server or other electronic devicefor receiving data from and/or providing data to host device 100. Forexample, component 300 can include a file server, a database server, aweb server, a file transfer protocol (“FTP”) server, a virtual privatenetwork (“VPN”) server, a proxy server, or any other server operative tocommunicate with host device 100. In some embodiments, component 300 caninclude a media server operative to provide media to host device 100(e.g., iTunes™ available by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.). In such anembodiment, every time a user connects host device 100 with helpcomponent 300 (e.g., iTunes™) for communicating media or other datatherebetween, help component 300 may automatically, or at the user'sapproval, access at least a portion of log 116 from host device 100.

In some embodiments, help component 300, like host device 100, can beany electronic device operative to communicate with a server or otherdevice. For example, host device 100 and help component 300 may each bea portable media player (e.g., an iPod™ available by Apple Inc.), acellular telephone (e.g., an iPhone™ available by Apple Inc.), apocket-sized personal computer (e.g., an iPAQ Pocket PC™ available byHewlett Packard Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif.), a personal digitalassistant, a personal computer (e.g., a desktop computer, such as aniMac™ available by Apple Inc., or a laptop computer, such as a MacBook™available by Apple Inc.), and any other device capable of communicatingvia wires or wirelessly (with or without the aid of a wireless enablingaccessory system).

In some embodiments, whether or not host electronic device 100 oraccessory device 150 is corrupted, historical log 117 and/or key 119created by program 116 may be communicated from host device 100 to helpcomponent 300 via communications link 210. In some embodiments, helpcomponent 300 may be configured to access historical log 117 fromprogram 116 of host device 100. Help component 300 may be configured torecognize or detect corruption of device 100 or corruption of accessorydevice 150 coupled to device 100 during its use by analyzing historicallog 117 accessed from host device 100. For example, help component 300may be configured to analyze historical log 117 to recognize or detectone or more problems experienced by host device 100 or associatedaccessory device 150, such as corruption of media, a file system, adatabase, a file structure, software, hardware, firmware, or the like ofdevice 100 or of accessory 150, including storage system failures, powersystem failures, network system failures, and accessory device failures.Help component 300 may accomplish this by heuristically analyzing log117, for example.

Log 117 may be generated periodically (e.g., every 5 milliseconds, every30 minutes, every 5 hours, after every reset, or at any other time basedor event based or environment based event occurs). Each generated log117 may be stored on device 100 or uploaded to a remote entity, and eachlog 117 may be retained or overwritten by a more recently generated log117 depending on available storage space and/or processing capabilities,for example.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, program 116 maycreate key 119 indicative of the corruption detected, as describedabove. Help component 300 may be configured to access key 119 created byprogram 116 of host device 100. Help component 300 may be configured torecognize or detect corruption of device 100 or accessory 150 coupled todevice 100 during its use by receiving key 119 accessed from device 100.Once a key 119 is generated using a particular log 117, that key 119 maybe stored on device 100 or uploaded to a remote entity, while theparticular log 117 may be deleted in some embodiments or too may bestored on device 100 or uploaded to a remote entity.

Host device 100 and/or help component 300 may simply detect that hostdevice 100 or associated accessory 150 is corrupted. However, in otherembodiments, host device 100 and/or help component 300 may be able todetect the type of corruption that host device 100 or accessory 150 hassuffered.

When help component 300 detects that host device 100 is corrupted, helpcomponent 300 may reset or restore host device 100 (e.g., to its factorysettings). Help component 300 may do this either automatically or at theoption of the user of host device 100, for example. This reset orrestore may be done by uploading certain data to host device 100 fromhelp component 300 and/or removing or deleting certain data from hostdevice 100 (e.g., using communications link 210). When help component300 detects that host device 100 has a particular type of corruption,help component 300 may fix that particular corruption (e.g., withoutresetting the device or erasing media from the device). Help component300 may do this either automatically or at the option of the user ofhost device 100, for example. This fix may be done by uploading certaindata (e.g., customized data based on the particular corruption detected)to host device 100 from help component 300 and/or removing or deletingcertain data from host device 100. All of this may be done transparentlyto the user of device 100.

Help component 300 may tap into redundant hardware or use other hardwareof host device 100 to replace whatever portion of device 100 wasdetermined to be corrupted (e.g., portions of flash memory). Helpcomponent 300, in conjunction with program 116 in some embodiments, mayscan device 100 and determine where the corruption or source of thecorruption exists. Help component 300 may then bypass those one or moreportions of device 100 and utilize other portions of device 100 to fixor reset device 100.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an illustrative process for diagnosing andfixing an electronic device in accordance with the invention. Process400 of FIG. 3 may begin with a host electronic device generating a logof events experienced by the device at step 402. These events mayinclude any action taken by any hardware component of the host device oran associated accessory device and any response taken by any software orfirmware of the host device or the accessory device, such as crashevents, software update events, media download events, environmentalevents, and usage events, for example.

At step 404, a help component may access at least a portion of the loggenerated by the host device (e.g., the log itself, a portion thereof,or a key generated from the log). The host device and the help componentmay communicate over a communications link such that the help componentcan access the log. The communications link may include any suitablewired or wireless communications link, or combinations thereof, by whichdata may be exchanged between the host device and the help component.For example, the communications link may include, but is not limited to,a satellite link, a fiber-optic link, a cable link, an Internet link, acellular network link, or any other suitable wired or wireless link. Thecommunications link may transmit data using any suitable communicationsprotocol, such as Wi-Fi™, Ethernet, Bluetooth™, high frequency systems(e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared,TCP/IP, HTTP, BitTorrent™, FTP, RTP, RTSP, SSH, any other communicationsprotocol, or any combination thereof.

At step 406, the help component may analyze the accessed portion of thelog to detect a problem experienced by the host device. In someembodiments, the help component may be configured to access at least aportion of the log of the host device and may be configured to analyzethe log to recognize or detect whether the host device or an associatedaccessory device has experienced a corruption or problem or is in needof a software or firmware update. For example, the help component may beconfigured to analyze the log to recognize or detect corruption ofmedia, a file system, a database, a file structure, or the like of thehost device or of an accessory device associated with the host device.In some embodiments, the help component may only be able to detect thatthe host device or an associated accessory device has been corrupted bya problem. However, in other embodiments, the help component may be ableto detect the particular type of corruption that the host device orassociated accessory device has suffered.

The help component may accomplish this by heuristically analyzing theaccessed portion of the log, for example. In other embodiments, the helpcomponent may compare the accessed portion of the log with a database ofdata that may have been previously accumulated by the help component orby various other instruments, and from the host device or from variousother devices, in order to determine whether the host device or anassociated accessory device has experienced a corruption or otherproblem. In yet other embodiments, a user or some administratorassociated with the help component may at least partially manuallyreview the accessed log of the host device in order to determine whetherthe host device or an associated accessory device has experienced acorruption or problem. In some embodiments, the help component maytransmit a particular type of signal to the host device and then analyzewhat signal was actually received by the host device as compared to thesignal actually sent in order to detect certain problems with the hostdevice.

Next, at step 408, data may be exchanged between the host device and thehelp component to fix the detected problem. For example, when the helpcomponent detects that the host device or an associated accessory deviceis corrupted or has any other type of problem, the help component mayreset or restore the host device or the accessory (e.g., to its factorysettings). This reset or restore may be done by uploading certaincorrective data to the host device from the help component and/or byremoving or deleting certain corrective data from the host device. Whenthe help component detects that the host device has a particular type ofcorruption, the help component may fix that particular corruption (e.g.,without resetting the host device or erasing data from the host device)by uploading certain data (e.g., customized data based on the particularcorruption detected) to the host device from the help component and/orremoving or deleting certain data from the host device. The exchangeddata that is removed from the host device and/or communicated betweenthe host device and the help device may be determined by the help deviceor an agent of the help device (e.g., a human administrator) based onthe problem detected at step 406.

All of this may be done transparently to a user of the host device.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the help component may provideinstructions to a user of the host device at one or more of steps 404,406, and 408 in order to better service the host device. For example,after detecting that the host device has experienced a problem at step406, the help component may communicate to a user of the host device oneor more instructions on how the user should interact with the hostdevice in a certain way in order to fix the problem at step 408. Such aninstruction may include instructing the user to press one or moremechanical buttons of the host device in a certain fashion, for example.Alternatively or additionally, such an instruction may includeinstructing the user on how to more efficiently and effectively to usethe host device in order to potentially avoid problems in the future(e.g., to replace an associated accessory device, actively scan media orstorage, update firmware or software more often, charge the device'sbattery in a new way, switch between certain modes of the device duringcertain situations, etc.), for example.

While there have been described systems and methods for reducing thecost and time required for diagnosing and fixing electronic devices, itis to be understood that many changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is also to beunderstood that the steps shown in the flowchart discussed above aremerely illustrative and that existing steps may be modified, added, oromitted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention canbe practiced by other than the described embodiments, which arepresented for purposes of illustration rather than of limitation, andthe invention is limited only by the claims which follow.

1. A method of diagnosing a host electronic device with a helpcomponent, the method comprising: accessing at least a portion of a logwith the help component; analyzing the at least a portion of the logwith the help component to detect a problem experienced by the hostelectronic device; exchanging corrective data between the help componentand the host electronic device to fix the problem, wherein theexchanging includes uploading the corrective data to the host electronicdevice from the help component; and in response to the host electronicdevice receiving the corrective data, scanning the host electronicdevice with the host electronic device to determine a portion of thehost electronic device that experienced the problem.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising generating the log with the host electronicdevice based on one or more events experienced by the host electronicdevice, wherein at least a first event of the one or more events is acrash event.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating thelog with the host electronic device based on one or more eventsexperienced by the host electronic device, wherein at least a firstevent of the one or more events is a program update event.
 4. The methodof claim 1 further comprising generating the log with the hostelectronic device based on one or more events experienced by the hostelectronic device, wherein at least a first event of the one or moreevents is a file transfer event.
 5. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising generating the log with the host electronic device based onone or more events experienced by the host electronic device, wherein atleast a first event of the one or more events is an environmental event.6. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating the log with thehost electronic device based on one or more events experienced by thehost electronic device, wherein at least a first event of the one ormore events is a usage event.
 7. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising generating the log with the host electronic device based onone or more events experienced by the host electronic device, whereinthe generating the log comprises storing one or more pieces ofinformation related to each of the one or more events.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the date that thefirst event occurred.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein a first piece ofthe one or more pieces of information related to a first event of theone or more events is the duration of the first event.
 10. The method ofclaim 7, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the location ofthe host electronic device during the first event.
 11. The method ofclaim 7, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the type of errorthat occurred during the first event.
 12. The method of claim 7, whereina first piece of the one or more pieces of information related to afirst event of the one or more events is the size of data received bythe host electronic device during the first event.
 13. The method ofclaim 7, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the type of datareceived by the host electronic device during the first event.
 14. Themethod of claim 7, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces ofinformation related to a first event of the one or more events is thesize of data transmitted from the host electronic device during thefirst event.
 15. The method of claim 7, wherein a first piece of the oneor more pieces of information related to a first event of the one ormore events is the type of data transmitted from the host electronicdevice during the first event.
 16. The method of claim 7, wherein afirst piece of the one or more pieces of information related to a firstevent of the one or more events is the identity of an other entity thatcommunicated with the host electronic device during the first event. 17.The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing includes: transmitting adata exchange request from the host electronic device to the helpcomponent in response to the host electronic device experiencing aninstigating event; and in response to the help component receiving thedata exchange request, downloading the at least a portion of the logfrom the host electronic device to the help component.
 18. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the accessing includes transmitting the at least aportion of the log from the host electronic device to the help componentusing a wireless protocol.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein theanalyzing is heuristic.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzingincludes comparing the at least a portion of the log to a database ofpreviously accumulated data.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein theanalyzing includes studying the at least a portion of the log with ahuman administrator of the help component.
 22. The method of claim 1,wherein the exchanging resets the host electronic device.
 23. The methodof claim 1, wherein the exchanging includes deleting the corrective datafrom the host electronic device.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein theexchanging includes communicating the corrective data to a user of thehost electronic device, wherein the corrective data includes one or moreinstructions teaching the user how to interact with the host electronicdevice to fix the problem.
 25. The method of claim 1, wherein the hostelectronic device is a portable media device.
 26. The method of claim 1,wherein the host electronic device is a cellular telephone.
 27. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the host electronic device is a personalcomputer.
 28. The method of claim 1, wherein the help component is a webserver.
 29. The method of claim 1, wherein the help component is a fileserver.
 30. The method of claim 1, wherein the help component is aportable media device.
 31. The method of claim 1, wherein the helpcomponent is a cellular telephone.
 32. The method of claim 1, whereinthe help component is a personal computer.
 33. A diagnostic systemcomprising: a help component comprising: circuitry configured to accessat least a portion of a log; circuitry configured to analyze the atleast a portion of the log to detect a problem; and circuitry configuredto exchange corrective data to fix the problem; and a host electronicdevice including a program configured to generate the log based on oneor more events experienced by the host electronic device, wherein thehelp component is configured to upload the corrective data to the hostelectronic device to exchange the corrective data, and wherein, inresponse to the host electronic device receiving the uploaded correctivedata, the host electronic device is configured to scan the hostelectronic device to determine a portion of the host electronic devicethat experienced the problem.
 34. The system of claim 33, wherein thehelp component is configured to use a wireless protocol to access the atleast a portion of the log.
 35. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is configured to use heuristics to analyze the at least aportion of the log.
 36. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is configured to compare the at least a portion of the log toa database of previously accumulated data to analyze the at least aportion of the log.
 37. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is configured to permit a human administrator of the helpcomponent to study the at least a portion of the log to analyze the atleast a portion of the log.
 38. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is a web server.
 39. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is a file server.
 40. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is a portable media device.
 41. The system of claim 33,wherein the help component is a cellular telephone.
 42. The system ofclaim 33, wherein the help component is a personal computer.
 43. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein at least a first event of the one or moreevents is a crash event.
 44. The system of claim 33, wherein at least afirst event of the one or more events is a program update event.
 45. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein at least a first event of the one or moreevents is a file transfer event.
 46. The system of claim 33, wherein atleast a first event of the one or more events is an environmental event.47. The system of claim 33, wherein at least a first event of the one ormore events is a usage event.
 48. The system of claim 33, wherein theprogram is configured to store one or more pieces of information relatedto each of the one or more events to generate the log.
 49. The system ofclaim 48, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the date that thefirst event occurred.
 50. The system of claim 48, wherein a first pieceof the one or more pieces of information related to a first event of theone or more events is the duration of the first event.
 51. The system ofclaim 48, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the location ofthe host electronic device during the first event.
 52. The system ofclaim 48, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the type of errorthat occurred during the first event.
 53. The system of claim 48,wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of information relatedto a first event of the one or more events is the size of data receivedby the host electronic device during the first event.
 54. The system ofclaim 48, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces of informationrelated to a first event of the one or more events is the type of datareceived by the host electronic device during the first event.
 55. Thesystem of claim 48, wherein a first piece of the one or more pieces ofinformation related to a first event of the one or more events is thesize of data transmitted from the host electronic device during thefirst event.
 56. The system of claim 48, wherein a first piece of theone or more pieces of information related to a first event of the one ormore events is the type of data transmitted from the host electronicdevice during the first event.
 57. The system of claim 48, wherein afirst piece of the one or more pieces of information related to a firstevent of the one or more events is the identity of an other entity thatcommunicated with the host electronic device during the first event. 58.The system of claim 33, wherein the host electronic device is furtherconfigured to transmit a data exchange request to the help component inresponse to the host electronic device experiencing an instigatingevent, and wherein the help component is further configured to receivethe data exchange request and to download the at least a portion of thelog from the host electronic device to access the at least a portion ofthe log.
 59. The system of claim 33, wherein the help component isconfigured to reset the host device to exchange the corrective data. 60.The system of claim 33, wherein the help component is configured todelete the corrective data from the host electronic device to exchangethe corrective data.
 61. The system of claim 33, wherein the helpcomponent is configured to communicate the corrective data to a user ofthe host electronic device to exchange the corrective data, and whereinthe corrective data includes one or more instructions for teaching theuser how to interact with the host electronic device for fixing theproblem.
 62. The system of claim 33, wherein the host electronic deviceis a portable media device.
 63. The system of claim 33, wherein the hostelectronic device is a cellular telephone.